America’s Obsession with Avocados

This little green fruit has become the an obsession among Americans, and it seems as if we can’t get enough. It has risen to become a staple for Instagram worthy posts, and no brunch is complete without them. For the past 18 years, our appetite for avocados have only risen. In 2000, Americans were consuming a little more than 1 billion avocados. An astronomical number no doubt, but that number has since exploded, reaching nearly 5 billion.

Avocados were once a rare treat that was only enjoyed by cities on the west coast. Outside of California, it was rare to even find avocados available at all. Nowadays, you can find avocados nearly anywhere. Thanks to a man named Rudolph Hass, the market for avocados has grown exponentially. Hass Avocados are the most commonly grown avocados in the world, as they are able to be easily grown in warmer climates, and the trees they come from are abundant when in season. By the 1950’s, avocados had dropped from $1 to as low as 25 cents. While that doesn’t sound like much, $1 back then equaled $9.13 if adjusted for inflation.

By the 1960’s, the popularity of avocados continued to increase thanks to a surge in immigration from Latin America. The fruit is indigenous to this region, and is used in many different dishes in the South American cultures. When Latin Americans immigrated to the country, they brought with them their love for the fruit, and ever since then, Americans have grown to love them. In Los Angeles alone, people there consume 293.15 million avocados every year. New York and Dallas also account for over 100 hundred million avocados consumed every year.

While avocados are wonderfully tasty, they are also one of nature’s super-fruits. Avocados are commonly said to be one of the healthiest foods you can eat. They are rich in a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 different vitamins and minerals. Avocados are also rich in fat, but only the good kind! They are actually one of the fattiest plant foods in existence, with 77% of the calories stemming from fat. They contain a high amount of oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil. Oleic acid has been shown to reduce inflammation and has beneficial effects on genes that are linked to cancer. Research has even shown that avocados play an active in fighting cancer cells, and greatly reduce the detrimental effects of chemotherapy. 

Not only are they nutritious and delicious, there are countless ways you can incorporate them into your diet. They can go with all kinds of foods, or can be eaten plain with a spoon. Avocado toast has been a recent obsession among the brunch-going crowds, particularly with millennia’s. But here’s a tip: there is absolutely no need to spend $10 on avocado toast when you can make it yourself at home, and it’s just as good. There’s no limit on your creativity, so try whatever you think is good! Because remember, just about anything tastes good with avocados. Until then, let’s all just be thankful for this incredibly delicious and absolutely nutritious fruit!